This line is open. The line was also
known as the "Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway".
The line was built to connect the Ardrossan Canal (Glasgow to Ardrossan)
which had only been built from Glasgow (Eglinton Basin) to Johnstone to
the port at Ardrossan with a railway from Johnstone to Ardrossan.

The section of line from Ardrossan to
Kilwinning and an extension to Doura were opened. The line was not extended
to Johnstone.

The original eastern end of the line was at
Eglinton, south of Kilwinning. This served the Eglinton Ironworks (opened after
the line) and Eglinton Colliery. The line here is now closed. The 'Dirrans'
station was located here.

There is also a branch to the Nobel Ardeer
Works. This branch formerly ran to the Ardeer Iron Works, various coal mines
and explosives factories. There was a private passenger station, Ardeer, at the works.

This station has two platforms and a sandstone
building. The station has been re-sited three times; the second station was
further west than the first and the third is between the two earlier ones. The
goods yard has been lifted and replaced with a car-park.

This locomotive shed was located within the
triangle of lines between Ardrossan Town and Ardrossan South Beach. The shed
opened in 1895 and closed in 1965, remaining in use as a signing-on point until
1967.

A west facing junction between the main line
and the Largs
Branch. Some lines branched off here
to access Ardrossan shed. The lines running to Largs have been lifted, the branch
now being approached from South Beach.

Ardrossan Town

Opened:1831 as Ardrossan
Re-named:2/3/1953 as Ardrossan Town Closed:1/1/1968 Re-opened:19/1/1987

This was the original terminus for the Largs
Branch, a change of train was necessary. The station had a glass roof and
two terminal platforms for trains from the east as well as two through platforms
for trains running to the harbour.

Here a link line to the Lanarkshire
and Ayrshire Railwaybranched to the north and then
east. This line was in use until the 1980s to gain access to a Bitumen works.
The junction faced east. Further lines branched off the passenger lines to run
to quaysides.

This was a large station with a long island
platform. The station had a timber roof. One portion of the entrance remained
standing until the late 1980s along with the disused platform. The Harbour Box
survived the closure of most signalboxes in Ayrshire and also survived the closure
of the Winton Pier station.